This is the archived version of our free weekly newsletter. To start receiving it in your mailbox on the send-out day, join the newsletter list!
Hi from Koh Lipe!
The last stop on my three-month-long wander through Thailand has a stunning coastline with a sea palette ranging from turquoise to emerald.
It is part of the Tarutao National Park, so every visitor should pay an entry fee that, in theory, should go toward preserving the island’s natural beauty.
And yet, one arrives at Koh Lipe’s main street and sees this.
It is fascinating how we’re capable of turning a blind eye to the pollution we are creating, or at least very passively tolerating.
On Koh Mook, one relatively remote beach has a carpet of plastic bottles. Someone wrote, “Imagine if each of us would take only one bottle away”. And yet, does anyone do it? “Why should I be responsible for carrying someone else’s trash over the mountain?”, they possibly reflect.
But yeah, we are dirty trash producers, and there are simply too many of us. Nature cannot handle us all.
Even we can’t handle ourselves. It’s high season in Thailand, and it happened more than once that, after I booked a room through one of the “trusted” booking engines, I didn’t get what I was promised.
Overbooking is a serious problem, especially among cheaper hotels and hostels that do not invest in centralized booking systems, leaving more room for error than for guests.
If you thought only airlines overbook their planes to make extra profits, you were wrong. I experienced coming to a booked hostel only to kiss a closed door before, on Coron Island in the Philippines.
But the frequency of problems with my bookings in Thailand was too high to be considered exceptional.
It started on Phi Phi Don. I was already on the island when I booked Magic Hostel through Agoda.
Despite my message exchanges with the staff, only when I arrived did they tell me they were actually full and that they transferred me to a neighboring Hangover Hostel. Erm, no you won’t! I’m not trading Magic for Hangover; in which universe is that legit?
“We already transferred several guests today”, the receptionist said, which showed me they don’t have a flaw in their programs, but in their hospitality ethics. Are they really doing this on purpose?
On Koh Lanta, I used Trip.com to book Beach House 24. Very soon, I got an apology for the inconvenience: “The hotel will not be able to accommodate your booking due to no vacancy.” They offered an alternative hostel, also next door – While Away. And they would cover the price difference – 10 baht (30 cents). Lol.
The new hostel wasn’t even on Trip’s platform, so I expressed my surprise with them guaranteeing me “a pig in a poke”. The customer service answered that they were checking with the property whether the alternative hotel was even confirmed (I thought it was!), but the owner didn’t speak good English, they said, and blah blah. It all felt so unserious, that they ended up booking me into a pricier The Atnal Lanta.
But the major stress happened when I arrived at Koh Lipe, where I booked four nights at the Walking Street Hostel. The last thing I wanted to hear on this pricy island where affordable accommodations are scarce was that my booking was canceled. Or even better: that I canceled it personally in early January. No, I didn’t!
I was already imagining I would sleep on the beach, as there was no way for me to explain to the young receptionist with poor command of English, that what he was saying didn’t make sense.
I reached out to Agoda, and after some back and forth, the receptionist found my booking. My bed was booked through Expedia (!), or what Agoda refers to as – a third party.
This wasn’t the only time Agoda made a mess by booking through Expedia for me, so now I’m thinking I should consult this platform more often myself if an engine such as Agoda acts like a middleman. It must be that Expedia’s prices are then quite competitive.
Traveling to a new, unknown destination, and finding out that your accommodation was canceled or non-existing, is quite frustrating. Hotels and hostels should not play with travelers’ peace of mind, as eventually, they would be the ones paying bills for the disturbance.
Have a stressless week!
Ivan Kralj
Pipeaway.com
This is the archived version of our free weekly newsletter. To start receiving it in your mailbox on the send-out day, join the newsletter list!
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning if you click on them and make a purchase, Pipeaway may make a small commission, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting our work!
